International Journal of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies ISSN: 2202-9451 www.ijclts.aiac.org.au Translation Approaches in Rendering Names of Tourist Sites Siowai LO* Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao Corresponding Author: Siowai LO, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history This article identifies the translation approaches adopted in the translation of names of tourist Received: July 22, 2020 sites in China and examines how ‘fame’ and ‘popularity’ may influence these approaches. Upon Accepted: January 15, 2021 analyzing a corpus of scenic site names, it is found that ‘pure phonetic’, ‘phonetic (name) + Published: January 31, 2021 semantic (class)’, ‘pure semantic’, and ‘phonetic (location) + semantic (name) are the four major Volume: 9 Issue: 1 patterns in the translations of site names. On the whole, the data shows that phonetic translation is dominant over semantic translation. Meanwhile, ‘fame’ and ‘popularity’ have great impact on the translated names of scenic sites. The findings also suggest that a phonetic translation Conflicts of interest: None approach is preferred in rendering names of world-famous sites whereas a semantic translation Funding: None approach is more frequently used for the name translation of sites located in places with higher popularity. The conflicting results reflect China’s struggle between preserving its cultural flavor for the sake of national identity and catering to foreign visitors for the benefit of the country’s Keywords: tourism development. Attraction Names, Phonetic Translation, Semantic Translation, Foreignization, Domestication INTRODUCTION place names. This article seeks to identify specific transla- As China receives more foreign visitors, the English transla- tion approaches adopted in the English translation of tourist tion of tourist information plays an increasingly crucial role site names in China through scrutinizing a corpus of trans- in the development of the tourism industry. Among a range lated tourist site names and examine whether and to what of tourist information, the translation of the names of tourist extent fame and popularity may influence the preference of sites is one of the most fundamental and significant elements translation approaches. The specific research questions are in the sector. Despite a composition of only a few words, as follows: an improper translation of tourist site names can project a 1. What are the approaches adopted in the English transla- wrong impression of the sites among tourists who have not tion of tourist site names in China? How frequently are yet visited the place in person, or result in travellers’ mis- these translation strategies adopted in China? understanding and confusion (Dann, 1996). Although in- 2. To what extent do fame and popularity influence the creasing attention has been paid to the English translation translation of tourist site names in China? of Chinese attraction names following the growth of China’s tourism industry, the translation approaches adopted vary LITERATURE REVIEW greatly. There are comparatively reader-friendly translated names such as ‘Summer Palace’ and ‘West Lake’. There The Function and Importance of Place Names are semi-foreign translated names like ‘Mount Taishan’ and A geographical name, as defined by Aurosseau (1957, p. 8), ‘Huangguoshu Falls’ that are fairly understandable, but there is ‘the proper name, or geographical expression, by which are also translated names such as ‘Jiuzhaigou’ and ‘Shan- a particular geographical entity is known’. It can be simple haiguan’ that appear completely alien to most target readers. like ‘York’ or compound like ‘Isle of Wight’ (p. 8). Com- To date there has been no guidance on how tourist site pound names can be comprised of a generic part and a spe- names could be or should be translated. There is also a lack cific part. The general part of a geographical name, usually of studies on decisive factors that may contribute to pref- a common noun like ‘Cape’, indicates ‘what class of thing a erences for different translation. Unlike common nouns, geographical feature is’, whereas the specific part, which can proper nouns often create special problems for translators be a proper noun, an adjective, or a phrase, usually intends to as they cannot be easily omitted, especially in the case of tell ‘which of the indicated class is meant’ (p. 8). Published by Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD. Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.9n.1p.31 32 IJCLTS 9(1):31-47 Despite sharing the same features as ordinary geograph- by Katharina Reiss in 1976, which argues that texts can be ical names, names of scenic sites carry significant missions classified according to informative, expressive and operative aside from simply an identification of location (Ecker, functions, and the selection of translation approaches should 1940; Kaups, 1966; McCulloch, 1989; Sofield and Li, 1998; be determined by text type. According to Reiss (1976), in Steward, 1945). Clark (2009) conducted a case study on translating informative texts, one should transmit the full the relationship between the names of indigenous tourism referential and conceptual content of the source text (ST) sites in Australia and tourists’ behaviour to demonstrate the and translation should be in plain language. For expressive significance of site names as tourism markers. The study texts, such as literature, novels, and poems, the translation found that visitors were often confused or disappointed by should follow closely the standpoint of the author and trans- misleading or inappropriate site names and some even took mit the aesthetic and artistic form of the ST. As for operative extreme measures such as scratching words or drawings on texts, Reiss (1976) states that the translation should attempt the rock or public area nearby. For instance, tourists who to create equivalent effects among target readers. Despite visited ‘Cave of Fishes’ and found no fishes were annoyed Reiss’s attempt to provide a guide to the choice of transla- by the name and scratched drawings of fish into the rock or tion strategies based on the classification of text-types, her sarcastically rename the site as ‘Cave of Jaws’ (p. 111). In instructions in the translation of tourist texts, not to mention view of constant troubles caused by inappropriate names, the the specific concern of place names, are limited and ambig- Victorian Tourism Commission decided to replace aborigi- uous. In her famous text-type classification, Reiss classifies nal place names in and around the Grampians National Park tourist brochures somewhere between informative, expres- with more suitable names on the public art sites in March sive, and operative types. Suppose this multi-purpose nature 1989. Such acts, according to Clark (2009), demonstrate that holds true in the case of names of tourist sites, which belongs naming, which presents an image to tourists and is likely to the genre of tourism texts, the solution as to how to render to affect tourists’ attitude, function as a crucial management names according to their purpose still lacks clear guidance. tool in protecting and promoting tourism. The answer to whether one should adopt the translation ap- Correspondently, Leiper (1990) points out that name con- proach that caters to an informative text, an expressive text, notation serves as a vital marker, a promotional or operation- or an operative text is still unclear. Confronted by the dif- al device which is often used in tourism marketing to provide ferences in the language system and cultural background of tourists with information about the sites, and names of the the two languages (Cronin, 2003, 2006; Liu, 1999), some sites can entail connotations that influence tourists’ views of elements of the place names may inevitably be sacrificed in the place. Leiper (1990, p. 379) claims that ‘positive conno- the translation. Often, either the name loses its original fla- tation can contribute to the satisfaction of places, which is vor to be reader-friendly or it sacrifices the smoothness of why organizations trying to promote a place often coin new the translation to preserve its own taste. names for it with tourist markets in mind’. Translation of Proper Names Translation of Place Names One of the challenges with translation of proper names lies in In his book, The Rendering of Geographical Names, Aurous- identifying how it differentiates from common names. Prop- seau (1957) provides the following suggestions for the ren- er names can be names of people, things, places and animals dering of geographical names: and they refer to extralinguistic, unique and specific objects We may take it directly, if it be written in the Roman with distinct meanings. In the past, proper names were often alphabet; we may render it letter-for-letter from a for- naturalized, but there have gradually been more concerns as eign Roman alphabet or from any non-Roman alphabet; to whether proper names should be translated. Despite often we may render it sound-for-sound, either by ear from known as rigid designators, proper names can convey com- any language, or by transcription from any alphabet or plex meaning through their connotations and etymology. In non-alphabetical script; we may translate it, if it has dealing with proper names translators may sometimes resort meaning; or, if it is a compound name containing